[4] The Valetta was seen to climb to about 400 feet then during a turn to the left it hit a tree five miles north of the airfield and crashed near Tom's Hill, Aldbury on part of the Ashridge Park estate of the National Trust.

[5] The wreckage was spread over two miles, with a cold north wind and ice and snow on the ground combined with a narrow access road made rescue difficult.

[5] The National Trust chief ranger with four of his staff were first on the scene reported "Ten bodies were scattered about and we found two men alive.

[1] The location was close to the same spot a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress had crashed during World War II.

[4] Verdicts of accidental death were returned for the sixteen victims at the coroner's inquest held at Berkhamsted.